The Meaning of Life
by kyokoaurora
Summary: A discussion between Motoko and Batou leads to a life changing decision. BatouxMotoko


Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost in the Shell.

Note: In this fic the laughing man accepted Aramaki's offer to work for Section Nine and is named Aoi according to Wikipedia.

Note 2: I made up Togusa's wife's name.

Note 3: Disregard any timeline for this, because I have only seen 1st gig.

&

"_Batou?"_

"_Yeah Major?"_

"_Do you think there's a difference between living and existing?"_

Batou sighed heavily and then swore as three cars ran the red light he was stopped before in quick succession.

"_Damn punks...sorry about that Major. Let me answer that with a question of my own. Why does every other conversation I have with you become a debate on some aspect or other of humanity's eccentricities?"_ he groused. Her laughter resounded in his head in response.

"_To which I answer, must every conversation be dominated by the myriad of mundane topics that the general populace are so fond of? I didn't know talking about say...the weather held so much intrigue for you Batou"_ she said, her tone light and mocking, and even without being able to see her face, he knew her lips were curved upward in amusement.

"_How about you save the philosophical discussions for the Tachikoma and the weather for me?"_ he said sarcastically. The Major chuckled.

"_Perhaps. It does seem to be their forte, however they may have developed the capabilities to comprehend human individualities as they now do, but they won't give me the satisfaction of an answer I'll accept, because I am not speaking exclusively of non"_ she said quietly. Batou would have rolled his eyes if they had allowed for so frivolous a function.

"I guess you're not going to let me off the hook until I answer are you?" he asked with a grin.

"If you want to look at it that way, then yes" she replied carelessly.

"_Fine, here's my definition of existing. Someone or something which there is some credible evidence to prove is physically or mentally present. For an example, a car exists. I can see it, feel it, hear its engine roar, smell the leather upholstery. It's there, and it exists. But it isn't alive. Something which is alive not only exists in all the forms I talked about, but is able to undertake on its own volition without being aided or used as the case may be. Additionally, the presence of living tissue instantly lends itself to being called living, as it was born naturally, like any other human"_ he finished, and waited to see what she thought of his hypothesis. When she answered, she sounded thoughtful.

"_So you believe that individuality and possession of a degree of human physiology defines a living being?"_ she asked.

"_Not exactly. If you take us, we both exist and live, as we were born human with the ability to learn unrestrictedly and make decisions based on our own reasoning. Our bodies may have been cyberized but our mindset is unaltered"_ he explained.

"_It's a good argument I suppose. What about the Tachikoma then, do you believe they possess ghosts because of the blatant evidence of their individuality and obvious decision making prowess?"_ she queried. Batou groaned.

"_Yeah, I do, though I hate to think that they are because if they really do comprehend as much as they seem to then it takes them beyond the level of grunt machine into some kind of cyborg, and makes me feel crap about ordering them to be cannon fodder"_ he said weightily.

"_If you're really sincere about what you said earlier, then consider that they are making the decision to give us their loyalty in that manner, and try not to worry about it"_ Motoko advised.

"_If you say so...well have I answered you question adequately?"_ he asked wryly. She laughed shortly.

"_Always to the point aren't you Batou? Not quite. Because You are alive therefore you exist, but you can exist and not necessarily be alive, and you can be defined as living by demonstrating autonomy and evidence of biological composition, but if your own individuality is outshone by those around you, do you simply exist, when you are unacknowledged?"_ she pressed. Batou snorted, and turned into a parking lot.

"_That's one for the poets Major, but if you want my opinion, as long as there's one person who recognizes your matchlessness and appreciates you for it, then you are alive, and it's worth hanging on to this world to keep that"_ he said, lacing the words with an air of finality as got out of the car and began heading for the bar up ahead.

"_Interesting theory. Do you have someone to fulfil that need?"_ she asked softly. Batou smiled.

"_I have several, but one in particular stands out, and I think it's because I am that person to them in return"_ he said, pushing open the door of the building and wading through the evening crowds.

"_How romantic a notion to arise out of such a discussion"_

"_Can't deny the truth in it though"_ he said evenly, signalling to the bartender.

"And in conclusion it all depends on whether you view life and existence as a physical or a mental condition" she mused aloud, appearing on the barstool next to him. Batou grinned and pushed the steaming teacup of the pear infusion she had been favouring recently toward her, which she accepted graciously.

"Yeah. And may he who tries to figure it out further than that be rich as hell to pay their shrinks" he said, taking a gulp of his own beer. Motoko imitated him with a smile.

"So cynical, but I guess that's your uniqueness showing through" she murmured. Batou barked out a laugh.

"I guess it is" he chuckled. He raised his glass and looked pointedly at his partner. She raised a perfect eyebrow, held up her own and he clinked his against hers, the dainty teacup and the beer glass contrasting strangely.

"A toast, may people continue to make stupid mistakes, achieve occasional success and not _just_ exist" he intoned. She smiled.

"A toast to that then" and they finished their drinks. Silence reigned for a moment as Batou ordered them another round.

"Batou?"

"Yeah?"

"What about events that occur that you didn't specifically decide to organise?" she asked. He looked at her quizzically.

"What about them? Are you asking if they don't contribute to your individualism because you didn't decide as such to make them happen?"

"More or less"

"I can only answer by asking why that's a bad thing, when it's proving that yet another person lives and doesn't merely exist" he said, slightly puzzled. Motoko looked pondering as she accepted her second cup.

"There was a decision made for me at the time I was cyberized when I was just a child. My parents determined that I would retain partial human functions" she said abruptly.

"I know you have your main organs intact otherwise you wouldn't be able to drink and so forth, but that's not what you're getting at is it?" he asked quietly. She shook her head.

"I'll spell it out for you. They left my reproductive system _fully_ intact" she said bluntly. Batou spluttered.

"Are you saying you can get pregnant?" he asked in shock. She nodded.

"Yes. Not only that but I'm not cyberized to the extent I am purported to be. Inside this body those organs are as heavily shielded as my brain case. My external body is armour for what houses my human components. If the external casing is destroyed, they will still be protected and can be transferred between new bodies. Only Aramaki and now you know this" she said.

"That's quite something Major" he said weakly. Then a thought came to him, and only his inhuman reflexes allowed him to catch his glass before it tumbled towards the floor. He set it carefully on the bar and looked at Motoko, whose eyes seemed to gleam with something he couldn't quite decipher.

"Are you pregnant?" he asked, astounded.

"Yes" she said simply, and Batou sagged limply, unable to hold himself up under the weight of the proclamation. Of course he shouldn't have discounted this. He knew it was possible for cyberized women to bear children, there had been far more advanced achievements in the field of melding human and robotic elements together without interference, but that it was uncommon due to the amount of alteration it required to the body to accommodate the growing foetus. Adoption and surrogacy were far more commonplace.

"I assumed you were sterile" he croaked. She stared at him impassively.

"And I assumed that contraceptive pills would be enough. For once in my I disregarded the one percent chance of failure" she said calmly "and that's why I asked you that question about unplanned events and their bearing on us" Batou froze.

"Do you want to have this baby?" he said evenly, taking pains to keep his voice steady, even though he was still reeling from the discovery. She stared into her tea as if it would provide her with an answer.

"If I'm being honest with myself I do" she admitted "in the time I've had to think it through, bearing and raising a child is an experience I wish to have. I had never had reason to think about it until now, since I assumed that if I did find myself in the position of having a potential father for the child, the nature of my work would make it too dangerous to carry out my duties"

"But it isn't simply my decision. Do _you_ want this baby?" she asked softly. And Batou thought long and hard before he answered her. He reached over and took her hand, stroking the simple gold band on her ring finger.

"I can't say I've given it much thought either but I know I want to try this too. And if Togusa is anything to judge by, kids lend purpose to your life, to _living_" he said meaningfully.

She squeezed his fingers in response.

&

A strange sight met all those who occupied the maternity unit's waiting room, where seven men and one woman sat in various degrees of discomfort, wincing at intervals as the volume levels from the room adjoining raised in pitch.

It had been interesting, to say the least when Batou and Motoko had announced their impending little arrival. Or perhaps chaotic would have been a more fitting term.

Pazu's coffee fell from his grasp, right into Ishikawa's lap, whereupon he bellowed as the skin on his legs sizzled. A Tachikoma had then ripped the water cooler tank out and proceeded to dump it on him, which helped matters very little.

Saito had congratulated them as if the news were nothing extraordinary, as did Togusa when the shock wore off and he began to question them animatedly about when the baby was due and so forth. As did Aoi, the so-called laughing man who had accepted Aramaki's offer to work for Section Nine.

After the pandemonium had passed, the whole team had congratulated them and had been genuinely happy for them. The men teased Batou light-heartedly about how he 'still had it', the Tachikoma zoomed about crooning about what a wonderful experience it would be, and Aramaki had promptly taken her off active duty. At first they had thought he was irritated by the inconvenience the pregnancy would cause but the smile he wore assured them that it was quite the reverse, and that he was pleased for them.

The next few months had been the strangest in Motoko's memory. When she wasn't undergoing alteration to her external shell to allow for the growing baby inside her she was being mollycoddled by whoever was in Section Nine at any given time. All the men had adopted the role of mother hens with a vengeance and she was constantly being told to sit down, drink this, do that, as if she hadn't read every book on cyborg pregnancy she could lay her hands on. But they were convinced that were greater authorities on the subject than she, and to her irritation Batou did little to aid her in fending off their over attentive behaviour. On the contrary, he seemed pleased that there were so many people that would protect her and the baby.

She recognized the futility in questioning him about what possible danger she could be in, taken off active duty due to her condition and the impracticality of the temporary shells in combat, and sitting at a desk all day filing paperwork and refrained from voicing her discontent for the most part.

A few scant hours ago, the baby had informed them, through the medium of excruciating pain, that he or she was ready to make their debut in the real world. Then boys had then proceeded to run about like headless chickens while Motoko calmly called the hospital and informed them.

Ishikawa, Saito, Pazu and Boma were thoroughly ill at ease with the whole thing, and trying not to appear conspicuous to the curious people observing them. Togusa and Mariko were less so because they had gone through this twice before. Aramaki stayed perfectly composed throughout, although Saito would later claim that his eyes darted toward the exit more than once.

Eventually the nurse had emerged smiling genially and informed them that they should follow her. She led them to where Batou was seated on the edge of an empty bed, cradling something swathed in a pink blanket. He grinned up at them.

"Hey guys, meet my kid" he said gruffly, though they could all tell he was bursting with pride.

"Hi kid!" Pazu joked, causing the rest to sigh.

"Does she have a name yet?" Aoi asked quietly, smiling down at the tiny little girl, sleeping peacefully in her father's arms.

"No, I'm waiting on Motoko to make the final call on that one" he said, gently stroking the downy black hair Motoko had originally possessed.

"Where is the Major anyway?" Togusa asked curiously.

"They're still putting her back together, back into her normal shell" he answered. Mariko pouted enviously.

"If only it were as easy for the rest to us to get back our pre-baby waistlines" she sighed, and everyone laughed.

"And I can't say I'm not grateful for it, though I'm in no hurry to repeat the experience either. One child is enough" Motoko laughed as she stepped into the room looking as if she hadn't just had a baby in the last hour. Seating herself beside Batou, she carefully took the bundle from him, smiling tenderly at her daughter.

"Aoi was just asking if you guys had come up with a name for her yet" Ishikawa told her. She hummed thoughtfully.

"Yukiko"

&

Aramaki groaned the cheerful secretary bot left his office, leaving him with yet another mountain of paperwork that needed to be completed post-haste. There were times when he couldn't think of a place he'd rather work. Staring at those ominous towers of documents wasn't one of them.

At that moment the door to his office burst open and his seven year old pseudo granddaughter bounded it, raven pigtails billowing out behind her as she ran. Unspeakably glad for the distraction, Aramaki dropped the report he was holding in favour of letting the child sit on his knee.

"Well good afternoon Yukiko, what can I do for my favourite granddaughter today?" he asked lightly. He wasn't entirely sure how he slipped in the role of grandfather to the hyperactive offspring of his two top operatives but he couldn't say he minded having her about the facility. Being confronted with her perpetually sunny disposition made it impossible to resist smiling at her. She knew how to brighten up a long day that was for certain.

"I have a question but all my uncles are too busy to answer it" she pouted. The Chief smiled at how she had termed the men. Motoko and Batou had unable to decide who should who should be her godfather so they had asked Saito, Ishikawa, Pazu, Boma, Togusa and Aoi (who appeared shocked that they liked and trusted him to that extent) if they would share the duty, to which they had enthusiastically accepted. Mariko had graciously agreed to be her godmother.

"Well why don't you tell your Grandpa and let him have a try?" he said affably. Yukiko giggled.

"What does pregnant mean Grandpa?" she asked sweetly. He choked a little.

"It means that a lady is going to have a baby Yukiko, why would you want to know that?" he asked her in bewilderment. She grinned.

"I'm going to get a new brother or sister!" she cheered. They both jumped as a furious voice rang through the building.

"YOU GOT ME PREGNANT _AGAIN_!?"

&

Well I hope that wasn't too implausible for you. I made both Motoko and Batou less cyberized, and married. Although in the series they feel pain, they can drink, etc, I've just made them a bit more human ^^ I hope the explanation of how she could get pregnant was alright, I think it made some sense, to me anyway.

This was only supposed to be a discussion between Batou and the Major and it mutated into a romance/family fic from there but I'm fairly happy with it. I hope you guys enjoyed it :)


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